With plastic ocean pollution threatening the food security of the country, the health of seaside communities, and endangered marine life, a party list group hoping to be the first green party in Congress has called for the passage of a comprehensive single-use plastic law that will phase out the use of single-use plastic in the country.
Speaking at the Zero Waste Cities Forum on behalf of Senator Loren Legarda, Luntiang Pilipinas party list first nominee Michael Ubac said that action was necessary as “the Philippines ranked third among the countries with the highest source of plastic ocean pollution, generating 1.88 million metric tons of mismanaged plastic garbage annually.”
“In the vastness of the ocean, one would think it is impossible to fill it with trash. But with reports of dead whales ingesting tonnes of plastic waste, sea turtles mistaking plastic for jellyfish, sea lions becoming entangled in plastic bags, and fish unknowingly consuming plastic microfibers, it almost seems that plastics have occupied our waters,” said Ubac who was reading from a prepared speech.
Ubac said that data showed that the world produced 20 times more plastic in 2014, around 311 million tons than it did in 1964. The Philippines ranks third among the countries with the highest source of plastic ocean pollution, generating 1.88 million metric tons of mismanaged plastic garbage annually.
“We owe it to our children to leave them a liveable planet. We cannot bequeath to them an environment that is degraded, polluted and uninhabitable.”
“What is also alarming is the possibility of having more plastic than fish in our oceans by the middle of the 21st century. At this rate, oceans are expected to contain more plastic than fish by the year 2050,” lamented the multi-awarded journalist.
Ubac added that the impact on the country would be disastrous, “as plastic ocean pollution likewise threatens food security of the country, given the dependence of the farming and fishing communities on the oceans. It will also adversely affect the health of communities, with the microplastics getting into our food chains.”
This, according to Ubac, is why Sen. Legarda filed Senate Bill 1948, or the Single-Use Plastics Regulation and Management Act of 2018.
“This bill provides for an ambitious yet comprehensive approach to solving the single-use plastics problem, which involves actions from national and local governments, industries, business enterprises and consumers for the manufacturing, selling, use, recycling and disposal of all single-use plastics in the country,” stressed Ubac, who obtained his Master’s Degree from Harvard University, where he won the Director’s Prize for Outstanding ALM Thesis.
The measure, said Ubac, aims to phase out single-use plastics in the country by prohibiting its importation and use in food establishments, stores, markets and retailers.
“We owe it to our children to leave them a liveable planet. We cannot bequeath to them an environment that is degraded, polluted and uninhabitable.”
“The phase-out of single-use plastics by all business enterprises to consumers will be in full force and effect one year from the effectivity of the Act. During the interim period, the provision of single-use plastics by food establishments, stores, markets and retailers will be strictly prohibited; consumers will be encouraged to use reusable materials in substitution for single-use plastics; all single-use plastics already in circulation in the general market will be collected, recycled, and properly disposed of by manufacturers in accordance with the provisions of the Ecological Solid Waste Management Law Law,” said Ubac.
Under the proposed law, business enterprises must ensure that single-use plastic materials that cannot be avoided are recycled. A minimum levy of five pesos shall be charged to consumers for each single-use plastic used in transactions, 20 percent of which shall be kept by the enterprise, while the 80 percent shall be remitted to the proposed Special Plastic Fund.
Ubac, who graduated cum laude from the University of the Philippines, said that it could be done as there are already local government units (LGUs) that have taken steps to limit the use of plastics. These include El Nido in Palawan, Los Baños in Laguna, Cebu City, Bacolod City, San Fernando in La Union, Negros Oriental, Baguio City, selected towns in Pangasinan, Pilar in Surigao del Norte, and Boracay Island.
Ubac also took the opportunity to rally support for the Luntiang Pilipinas party list, a movement founded by Legarda in 1998 to advocate for the protection and preservation of our environment.
“As a party list, it aims to better serve the Filipino people by advocating for policies and measures, such as the single-use plastics ban, that would lead the nation towards resilience, inclusivity and sustainability,” said Ubac.
“We owe it to our children to leave them a liveable planet. We cannot bequeath to them an environment that is degraded, polluted and uninhabitable.”
The Zero Waste Cities Forum was organized by the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA) in partnership with the Mother Earth Foundation (MEF) to tackle policies and best practices aimed at reducing, if not eliminating, single-use plastic in our cities and municipalities.
GAIA is a worldwide alliance of more than 900 grassroots groups, NGOs and individuals who are leading the transition toward a Zero Waste world, while the MEF is an NGO actively engaged in addressing waste and toxic pollution, climate change, and other health and environmental justice issues.
